Tagged: Marie Antoinette

October 16 in history:

“Antoinette, dainty queen, with her quaint guillotine…” That line from the musical “Damn Yankees” refers to France’s Marie Antoinette meeting her fate on this date in 1793. The queen was beheaded nine months after her husband, King Louis XVI.

The American colonies effectively cut themselves off from the King of England by winning the Revolutionary War. On October 16th, 1783, Army commander George Washington captured Yorktown, Virginia, in the final battle of the war.

The English once beheaded their own king, Charles I, in the 1600s and tried life without royalty for a few years. It didn’t stick, and the royal family returned during the Restoration. A popular novel about the Restoration, “Forever Amber,” was a best seller in the 1940s. “Amber” author Kathleen Winsor, born in 1919, shared an October 16th birthday with the actress who played the lead in the movie version of the novel, Linda Darnell (1923).

May 16th in history:

Wedding bells for author Edgar Allan Poe and his cousin, Virginia Clemm, on May 16th, 1836. Edgar was 27, Virginia was 13. Some sources claim that the two had been married secretly for almost a year.

Did they eat cake at this wedding? Fourteen-year-old Marie Antoinette married 15-year-old French Prince Louis-Auguste (who became King Louis XVI) on May 16th, 1770. One legend about Marie Antoinette is that Mozart said he wanted to marry her, when they met as young children.

Another flamboyant musician (one who didn’t marry) was born on this date in 1919 – the man with the candelabra on his piano, Liberace.

Actress Norma Shearer received an Oscar nomination in 1938 for playing Marie Antoinette. Shearer didn’t win that year, but she was named Best Actress for “The Divorcee” at the 3rd Academy Awards, in 1930. The very first Oscar ceremony happened on May 16th, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. “Wings” was the first winner for Best Picture.

About Brad Williams

"Triviazoids" author Brad Williams is the second person ever studied for the syndrome dubbed "superior autobiographical memory" by researchers at the University of California in Irvine.
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Described as "the Human Google" by "Good Morning America," Brad has appeared on "60 Minutes," "NBC Nightly News," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "Live with Regis and Kelly" and CNN.
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Brad works as a radio news anchor on WKTY and Classic Hits 94.7 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His brother, Eric Williams, has made a documentary about Brad, titled "Unforgettable",now available for purchase or rent on Amazon and Vimeo. For information about the film, and to view clips from the documentary, please visit www.unforgettabledoc.com.